STAKEHOLDER INVOLVEMENT IN CORPORATE SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL STRATEGIES IN MONT- TREMBLANT by Carolyn Pharand Honours Leisure, University of Ottawa, 2002 Concentration Public Policy, University of Ottawa, 2002 PROJECT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF RESOURCE MANAGEMENT In the School of Resource and Environmental Management Report No. 383 O Carolyn Pharand 2005 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Summer 2005 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. APPROVAL Name: Carolyn P. Pharand Degree: Master of Resource Management (Planning) Title of Research Project: Stakeholder Involvement in Corporate Social and Environmental Strategies in Mont- Tremblant. Report Number: 383 Examining Committee: Dr. Peter Williams Senior Supervisor Professor School of Resource and Environmental Management Dr. Alison Gill Supervisor Professor School of Resource and Environmental Management Department of Geography Date Approved: Thursday July 21, 2005 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY PARTIAL COPYRIGHT LICENCE The author, whose copyright is declared on the title page of this work, has granted to Simon Fraser University the right to lend this thesis, project or extended essay to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. The author has further granted permission to Simon Fraser University to keep or make a digital copy for use in its circulating collection. The author has further agreed that permission for multiple copying of this work for scholarly purposes may be granted by either the author or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this work for financial gain shall not be allowed without the author's written permission.\ Permission for public performance, or limited permission for private scholarly use, of any multimedia materials forming part of this work, may have been granted by the author. This information may be found on the separately catalogued multimedia material and in the signed Partial Copyright Licence. The original Partial Copyright Licence attesting to these terms, and signed by this author, may be found in the original bound copy of this work, retained in the Simon Fraser University Archive. W. A. C. Bennett Library Simon Fraser University Burnaby, BC, Canada Simon Fraser University Ethics Approval The author, whose name appears on the title page of this work, has obtained human research ethics approval from the Simon Fraser University Office of Research Ethics for the research described in this work, or has conducted the research as a member of a project or course approved by the Ethics Office. A copy of the approval letter has been filed at the Theses Office of the University Library at the time of submission of this thesis or project. The original application for ethics approval and letter of approval is filed with the Office of Research Ethics. Inquiries may be directed to that Office. Bennett Library Simon Fraser University Burnaby, BC, Canada ABSTRACT Corporations at mountain resort destinations have far reaching impacts on the communities in which they operate. This research examines the extent to which a resort development company (Intrawest, Mont-Tremblant) involves stakeholders in planning and decision-making and how this influences the company's social and environmental strategies and the community's evolution. The results suggest that lntrawest utilized inclusive stakeholder strategies when it first arrived in Mont-Tremblant. These relationships fostered trust and openness, influenced the community's evolution and the company's strategies. Recently, lntrawest appears to have become more selective in its stakeholder strategies and now focuses on those groups able to provide it with the licenses and permits required to conduct business. Overall trust and general stakeholder awareness about environmental or social programs, development plans and Intrawest's long-term vision have decreased. DEDICATION I would like to dedicate this thesis to my mother for her endless love and support throughout my life and university career. Throughout the trials and tribulations of this master's degree she never failed to believe that I could achieve. To my fatherfor his support and words of wisdom which helped me see problems in new light and push to achieve my dreams. Most of all, I would like to dedicate my thesis to my boyfriend Rickfor his love and understanding throughout the last two years. He has been an inspiration and a pillar of support throughout the six years that I have known him and especially through this degree. Even though I would move 5,000 kilometres away to complete my masters, he supported and encouraged my decision. He made me believe that I had the inner strength to achieve my goals and never doubted my abilities even when I did. His undying love and encouragement made being so far from him and home feel not so very far away. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my thesis supervisor, Peter Williams, for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to complete this master's degree at Simon Fraser University and for his support throughout the two years of the program. Thank you as well to my secondary thesis supervisor, Alison Gill, for her direction and thoughtful input throughout the research process. Thank you to my family and friends who encouraged and supported me through the master's program. A special thank you to my friends at REM for their humour and outlook on life as we all struggled through difficult moments. I must also express a special note of thanks to all interview participants from the community of Mont-Tremblant for taking the time to explain the history, benefits and issues of resort development in their region. TABLE OF CONTENTS .. Approval ..............................................................................................................11 ... Abstract ..............................................................................................................111 Dedication ...........................................................................................................iv Acknowledgements ............................................................................................v Table of Contents ...............................................................................................vi List of Figures ....................................................................................................ix List of Tables .......................................................................................................x List of Acronyms ................................................................................................xi Chapter 1 : INTRODUCTION .............................................................................1 1. 1 STUDY RATIONALE ..........................................................................1 1.2 PURPOSE OF STUDY AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS ....................1 1.2.1 Research Questions ........................................................................2 1.3 METHODS ..........................................................................................3 1.3.1 Literature Review............................................................................. 3 1.3.2 Case Study ......................................................................................3 1. 1 REPORT ORGANIZATION .................................................................3 Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ...................................................................5 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................5 Trends .................................................................................................5 CORPORATE MANAGEMENT........................................................... 8 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) ............................................9 Corporate Environmental Responsibility (CER) .............................11 CSRICER Implementation and Reporting .....................................14 STAKEHOLDER THEORY ............................................................... 15 Stakeholder Saliency .....................................................................17 Community Engagement and Collaboration ..................................20 Mechanisms for Public Participation ..............................................24 RESORT COMMUNITIES ................................................................24 Resort Community stakeholders ...................................................25 Resident Perceptions and Attitudes ..............................................-27 Destination Life Cycle ................................................................... -29 Community Evolution in a Tourism Setting ....................................30 Summary .......................................................................................... 31 Chapter 3: METHODS ....................................................................................33 3.1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................. 33 I 3.2 RESEARCH OBJECTIVE AND QUESTIONS ..................................33 3.2.1 Research Questions .....................................................................-33